Phylogenetic independent contrasts
2 - 4 June, Bern
Trainer
Enrico Rezende
Organizer
Summary
Multi-species comparative studies are increasingly used in ecology and evolution, because they yield more general insights than single-species studies. A potential limitation of multi-species comparative studies is that the species are not independent data points due to shared evolutionary history of closely related species. One way to avoid this problem, which is now more and more frequently applied as a consequence of the increasing availability of phylogenies, is the use of pylogenetically independent contrasts (PICs).
Theoretical aspects
. Why and when are phylogenetic statistical methods necessary
. Types of characters that may be analyzed with phylogenetic statistics
. Inferences about evolutionary processes
. Experimental design: How to minimize the confounding problems associated with shared evolutionary history
. Phylogenetic versus conventional statistics
. The rationale behind phylogenetic contrasts and phylogenetic regression
Practical computer
. Computing phylogenetic independent contrasts
. Phylogenetic regression, ANOVAs and ANCOVAs
. Detecting phylogenetic signal
. Computer simulations of phenotypic evolution along a phylogenetic tree
. Branch length transformation and evolutionary rates
Required material
. PC with Windows XP (if possible, bring your laptop!)
. Matlab
. Treeview
Location
All participants will first gather in the practicum room (Praktikumsaal 73) on the second floor of the main building of the: Institute of Plant Sciences, Alterbergrain 21, Bern
Depending on the number of participant, we will do the course in the practicum room or in the computer room of the institute. From the main station, it is a 10-minute walk to the institute How to get
Registration
Contact
Elisa Piaia
Coordinator of the Inter-University
Doctoral Program in Ecology and Evolution
Biophore building
University of Lausanne
Tel: +41 (0)21 692 4244
Fax: +41 (0)21 692 4165
E-mail: elisa.piaia(at)unil.ch
